Drinking containers with ice retaining features

ABSTRACT

A drinking container includes: a base; a sidewall extending upwardly from the base, wherein the base and the sidewall define a cavity; and an ice retaining structure in the cavity, the ice retaining structure including a shield member held adjacent an adjacent portion of an inner surface of the sidewall, wherein the shield is connected to and/or abuts the sidewall at two spaced apart connection locations. The ice retaining structure and the sidewall define a single laterally extending gap therebetween, and the ice retaining structure is positioned and configured to retain ice in the cavity and to permit liquid to pass through the gap when the drinking container is tilted relative to vertical.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No.63/144,644, filed Feb. 2, 2021, the disclosure of which is incorporatedby reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

A common problem associated with the consumption of a beveragecontaining ice cubes is that the ice cubes float on the surface of thebeverage and therefore come in contact with the lips and/or mustache ofthe drinker. In addition to this problem, the ice cubes oftensubstantially impede the flow of the beverage into the drinker's mouth,frustrating the drinker's desire simply to drink the beverage, ratherthan maneuver around the ice cubes with his or her lips. When one tiltsthe glass to enhance the flow of liquid, the ice may come rushing towardthe drinker, spilling the contents of the container on the drinker,particularly when the drinker is attempting to consume the final sip ortwo of the beverage and tilts the container at a high angle relative tovertical. This may be especially frustrating and wasteful when thebeverage is an expensive liquor, such as certain scotches or tequilas.Alternatively, a straw can be used but that is less desirable for someand potentially wasteful. Many straws are not environmentally friendly.

SUMMARY

Some embodiments of the present invention are directed to a drinkingcontainer comprising, consisting of, or consisting essentially of: abase; a sidewall extending upwardly from the base, wherein the base andthe sidewall define a cavity; and an ice retaining structure in thecavity. The ice retaining structure comprises, consists of, or consistsessentially of a shield member held adjacent an adjacent portion of aninner surface of the sidewall, wherein the shield is connected to and/orabuts the sidewall at two spaced apart connection locations. The iceretaining structure and the sidewall define a single laterally extendinggap therebetween, and the ice retaining structure is positioned andconfigured to retain ice in the cavity and to permit liquid to passthrough the gap when the drinking container is tilted relative tovertical.

In some embodiments, the shield is arcuate. The shield may be convexrelative to the adjacent portion of the inner surface of the sidewall.The shield may be concave relative to a portion of the inner surface ofthe sidewall that is diametrically opposed to the adjacent portion ofthe inner surface of the sidewall.

In some embodiments, the two spaced art connection locations arecircumferentially spaced apart by an arc angle of 120 degrees or less.

In some embodiments, the shield and the sidewall define a center openingthat is sized and configured to receive ice cubes therethrough. Thecenter opening may have a diameter and/or a width of 2 to 4 inches. Thecenter opening may have a diameter and/or a width of at least 3 inches.

In some embodiments, the sidewall extends upwardly from the base andterminates in a lip. The ice retaining structure may be positioned andconfigured to retain ice in the cavity and to permit liquid to passthrough the gap and over the lip when the drinking container is tiltedrelative to vertical. The ice retaining structure may be positionedcloser to the lip than the base.

In some embodiments, the shield includes a bottom and a top that iscloser to the adjacent portion of the inner sidewall than is the bottom.

Further features, advantages and details of the present invention willbe appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading ofthe figures and the detailed description of the embodiments that follow,such description being merely illustrative of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a drinking container according tosome embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is another top perspective view of the drinking container of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the drinking container of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates the drinking container of FIG. 1 tilted relative tovertical, illustrating an ice retaining feature that retains ice in thecontainer and allows flow of liquid beverage out of the container.

FIG. 5 illustrates the drinking container of FIG. 1 further tiltedrelative to vertical, with the ice retaining feature preventing an icecube from exiting the container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which illustrativeembodiments of the invention are shown. In the drawings, the relativesizes of regions or features may be exaggerated for clarity. Thisinvention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and shouldnot be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather,these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thoroughand complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to thoseskilled in the art.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being“coupled” or “connected” to another element, it can be directly coupledor connected to the other element or intervening elements may also bepresent. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directlycoupled” or “directly connected” to another element, there are nointervening elements present. Like numbers refer to like elementsthroughout. As used herein the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

In addition, spatially relative terms, such as “under”, “below”,“lower”, “over”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease ofdescription to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will beunderstood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompassdifferent orientations of the device in use or operation in addition tothe orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device inthe figures is inverted, elements described as “under” or “beneath”other elements or features would then be oriented “over” the otherelements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “under” can encompassboth an orientation of over and under. The device may be otherwiseoriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatiallyrelative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail forbrevity and/or clarity.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,”“includes,” “comprising,” and/or “including,” when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

It is noted that any one or more aspects or features described withrespect to one embodiment may be incorporated in a different embodimentalthough not specifically described relative thereto. That is, allembodiments and/or features of any embodiment can be combined in any wayand/or combination. Applicant reserves the right to change anyoriginally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including theright to be able to amend any originally filed claim to depend fromand/or incorporate any feature of any other claim although notoriginally claimed in that manner. These and other objects and/oraspects of the present invention are explained in detail in thespecification set forth below.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

The terms “glass” and “glasses” as used herein refer to drinkingcontainers that, unless otherwise defined, are not required to be madeof glass and may be made of other materials such as various ceramic orpolymeric materials.

The term “ice cube” as used herein means a block shaped piece of ice butis not necessarily cube-shaped.

Generally speaking, embodiments of the present invention are directed tocontainers such as cups and glasses that retain ice while permittingflow of liquid beverage from the container. More specifically,embodiments of the present invention are directed to containers havingan ice retaining feature that is configured to retain ice in thecontainer while permitting liquid beverage to flow out of the containerwhen the container is tilted relative to vertical.

A drinking container 10 according to some embodiments is illustrated inFIGS. 1-3. The container 10 includes a housing 11. The housing 11includes a base 12 and a sidewall 14 extending upwardly from the base 12and terminating in a lip 16. The base 12 and the sidewall 14 define acavity C.

An ice retaining structure 18 is in the cavity C. The ice retainingstructure 18 comprises, consists of, or consists essentially of a bar orshield 20 held adjacent an inner surface 15 of the sidewall 14. Morespecifically, the shield 20 can be connected to and/or abut the sidewall14 at two spaced apart locations 22. The shield 20 and the sidewall 14define a gap 24 between the locations 22.

The gap 24 may have an average length L1 of between 0.5 and 2.5 inchesor between 1 and 2 inches in various embodiments. The gap 24 may have anaverage width or thickness W1 of between 0.1 and 0.5 inches or between0.1 and 0.25 inches in various embodiments.

As will be described in more detail below, the shield 20 is positionedand configured to retain ice in the cavity C and to permit liquidbeverage to pass through the gap 24 when the drinking container 10 istilted. As will also be described in more detail below, the shield 20and the sidewall 14 define a center opening 26 through which ice cubes(or a single large ice cube or sphere) may be inserted downwardly intothe cavity C.

The container 10 has a height H1. The height H1 may be between 3 inchesand 5 inches, making the container 10 suitable for use as a cocktailglass, a rocks glass or a liquor glass. In some other embodiments, theheight H1 may be between 5 inches and 7 inches, making the container 10suitable for use as a highball glass or a glass for ice tea, soda andthe like.

At least one ice cube and liquid beverage may be received through theopening 26. The opening 26 is sized to easily receive the at least oneice cube (e.g., an oversized cocktail ice cube). FIG. 4 is a digitalimage illustrating the drinking container 10 tilted relative tovertical. As shown, the shield 20 is positioned and configured such thatthe ice cube 28 is retained in the cavity C below the shield 20 andliquid beverage 30 passes through the gap 24 and over the sidewall lip16 when the container 10 is adequately tilted relative to vertical. FIG.5 is a digital image illustrating that a drinker may tilt the container10 up to about 90 degrees or more relative to vertical such thatsubstantially all the liquid beverage 30 flows out of the container 10while the ice cube 28 is retained in the container 10 by the shield 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, the center opening 26 is sized and configured toreceive at least one (oversized) ice cube or a plurality of ice cubestherethrough. The container 10 has an average diameter D1. In variousembodiments, the diameter D1 may be between 2 and 6 inches, between 3and 5 inches, and at least 3 inches. The container 10 has an averagewidth dimension W2 spanning from the shield 20 to the sidewall 14. Thewidth dimension W2 may be 2 and 6 inches, between 3 and 5 inches, and atleast 3 inches. Thus, the opening 26 is sized to receive relativelylarge ice cubes. The opening 26 may be sized to easily receive oversized“cocktail” ice cubes that have a side dimension of 2 inches or more.This may be difficult with some known glasses with ice retainingfeatures, such as a ring member that spans the entire circumference ofthe glass.

As shown in FIG. 1, the shield 20 may be arcuate. The shield may beconvex with respect to the adjacent sidewall 14 and may be concave withrespect to a major portion of the cavity C or the opening 26. Thisconfiguration may help prevent liquid from splashing on the drinker. Theconnection locations 22 may be circumferentially spaced apart by 135,120, or 90 degrees or less (arc angle or central angle defined by thetwo connection locations).

The shield 20 includes a bottom or bottom surface 20B and a top or a topsurface 20T. The bottom 20B may be closer to the sidewall 14 than is thetop 20T.

The shield includes first and second opposite surfaces 20S1 and 20S2.The first surface 20S1 faces the adjacent portion 14A of the sidewall 14and the second surface 20S2 faces a major portion of the cavity C or theopening 26 or a portion 14B of the sidewall 14 that is diametricallyopposed to the adjacent portion 14A of the sidewall 14.

The drinking containers described herein may be formed of any suitablematerial for a drinking container. In some embodiments, the drinkingcontainer is formed of a rigid or semi-rigid material that is suitablefor a formal drinking container such as a cocktail glass.

In some embodiments, the drinking container is glass and may be formedby melting and forming (e.g., blowing or molding) as understood by thoseskilled in the art. In some other embodiments, the drinking container isplastic and may be formed by melting and molding (e.g., compressionmolding or injection molding) as understood by those skilled in the art.In some other embodiments, the drinking container is formed by additivemanufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing. In some other embodiments,the drinking container is metal. For example, the drinking container maybe copper and resemble a “Moscow Mule” cup or mug. In some otherembodiments, the drinking container is formed of more than one material.By way of example, the housing may be glass and the ice retainingstructure may be plastic or vice versa. By way of further example, thehousing may be glass and the ice retaining structure may be metal orvice versa.

The ice retaining structure or shield may be integrally formed with thedrinking container housing or may be separately formed. The housing 11and the shield 20 may be integrally formed, such as by using theprocesses described above. Alternatively, the shield 20 may be formedseparately and may then be adhered or otherwise attached or connected tothe sidewall 14. In some embodiments, the sidewall 14 may includeconnection features and the shield 20 may be releasably connected to thesidewall 14 using the connection features or vice versa.

If the shield is separately formed, the shield may also be received andheld in the container cavity by an interference fit. For example, thecontainer sidewalls may flare outwardly from the base to the lip (e.g.,as with a common pint glass), and the shield may be received and held inthe container cavity by an interference fit at a desired height orlevel.

The shield may have substantially the same appearance and/or color asthe rest of the container, which may help obscure the shield. The shieldand/or the container housing may be transparent or semi-transparent,also helping to obscure the shield. Moreover, the shield generallyresides adjacent to the inner sidewall and, together with the sidewall,defines a relatively large center opening, and therefore the shield isrelatively unobstructive and can be hidden from view by others.

The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to beconstrued as limiting thereof. Although a few exemplary embodiments ofthis invention have been described, those skilled in the art willreadily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplaryembodiments without materially departing from the teachings andadvantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications areintended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined inthe claims. The invention is defined by the following claims, withequivalents of the claims to be included therein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A drinking container comprising: a base; asidewall extending upwardly from the base, wherein the base and thesidewall define a cavity; and an ice retaining structure in the cavity,the ice retaining structure comprising a shield member held adjacent anadjacent portion of an inner surface of the sidewall, wherein the shieldis connected to and/or abuts the sidewall at two spaced apart connectionlocations; wherein the ice retaining structure and the sidewall define asingle laterally extending gap therebetween, and wherein the iceretaining structure is positioned and configured to retain ice in thecavity and to permit liquid to pass through the gap when the drinkingcontainer is tilted relative to vertical.
 2. The drinking container ofclaim 1 wherein the shield is arcuate.
 3. The drinking container ofclaim 2 wherein the shield is convex relative to the adjacent portion ofthe inner surface of the sidewall.
 4. The drinking container of claim 2wherein the shield is concave relative to a portion of the inner surfaceof the sidewall that is diametrically opposed to the adjacent portion ofthe inner surface of the sidewall.
 5. The drinking container of claim 1wherein the two spaced art connection locations are circumferentiallyspaced apart by an arc angle of 120 degrees or less.
 6. The drinkingcontainer of claim 1 wherein the shield and the sidewall define a centeropening that is sized and configured to receive ice cubes therethrough.7. The drinking container of claim 6 wherein the center opening has adiameter and/or a width of 2 to 4 inches.
 8. The drinking container ofclaim 6 wherein the center opening has a diameter and/or a width of atleast 3 inches.
 9. The drinking container of claim 1 wherein thesidewall extends upwardly from the base and terminates in a lip, andwherein the ice retaining structure is positioned and configured toretain ice in the cavity and to permit liquid to pass through the gapand over the lip when the drinking container is tilted relative tovertical.
 10. The drinking container of claim 9 wherein the iceretaining structure is positioned closer to the lip than the base. 11.The drinking container of claim 1 wherein the shield comprises a bottomand a top that is closer to the adjacent portion of the inner sidewallthan is the bottom.